TRENTON — Do you have questions about same-sex marriage now that it is legal in New Jersey?

The state website has added a Q&A explaining how gay couples can apply for marriage licenses. It also addresses whether couples have to dissolve their civil unions and whether they can continue to enter into them, and what they should do if they were already married in another state.

Just after the clock strikes 12 Monday morning, Louise Walpin and Marsha Shapiro are scheduled to exchange vows inside the Elizabeth home of state Sen. Raymond Lesniak.

The happy couple will be walked down the aisle by state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, who joined Lesniak in sponsoring a same-sex marriage bill.

At the same time, on the other end of the state, Beth Asaro and Joanne Schailey — among the first same-sex couples to obtain a civil union in New Jersey in 2007 — are scheduled to be married at the justice complex in Lambertville, where Asaro is a councilwoman.

Gov. Chris Christie dropped his legal challenge to gay marriage in New Jersey today, only hours after same-sex couples began exchanging wedding vows throughout the state.

Christie’s unexpected decision to withdraw his appeal of a major case at the state Supreme Court marks the end of a decade-long legal battle. It means that a lower-court ruling allowing gay couples to marry in New Jersey stands as the law.

New Jersey is now the 14th state to legalize gay marriage, and the first to do so in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in June striking down the Defense of Marriage Act.

On behalf of the Jersey City Independent, I congratulate all the couples who were the first to get married earlier this morning in Jersey City and throughout the State of New Jersey.

It was already a great day to celebrate history and equality, and then the news that Governor Christie dropped the appeal of the Same-Sex Marriage Ruling slated for January came in. Same-sex marriages are not only legal now in New Jersey but they are here to stay!

On a personal note, my parter Beth Achenbach and I were the first couple to become Domestic Partners in Jersey City in 2004. As LGBT activists, we have attended Marriage Equality rallies, gone to town hall meetings throughout the state, and followed the personal stories of discrimination and inequality faced by other same-sex couples and their families who didn’t have the same rights and privileges as their straight counterparts.

Marriage rights include joint state tax returns, co-ownership of property, the ability to make critical and emergency medical decisions – without lengthy and expensive legal documents – a marriage license does all this and so much more.

Finally, this fight is over for New Jersey. We join the other 13 states in the nation where it is legal to marry your same-sex partner, to be protected by the same laws and afforded the same rights as every other married American.

“Same-sex couples who cannot marry are not treated equally under the law today.”

With those words, the New Jersey Supreme Court yesterday refused to put a temporary hold on gay marriage, opening the way for the state’s first same-sex wedding ceremonies in the coming days.

The 20-page unanimous decision, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, was a stunning setback to the administration of Republican Gov. Chris Christie, which had petitioned for a temporary stay of a lower-court ruling that had cleared the way for same-sex marriages to begin Monday.

The state Supreme Court has refused to issue a stay on an order allowing same-sex marriages in the state of New Jersey. On September 27, Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson granted an emergency request by six gay couples ordering state officials to begin officiating same-sex marriages on Monday, October 21. Her ruling was based on grounds that refusing marriage rights denied couples (even with civil unions or domestic partnerships) federal benefits.

The news of the stay came to Rich Kiamco and his partner, David Gibson, while they were at city hall completing an application for a marriage license. They hope to be the first same-sex couple officially married in the state on Monday, October 21 at 12:01 am.

Mayor Steven Fulop has been on a similar mission, aiming to make Jersey City the first to issue licenses and perform same-sex weddings in the state. To that end, earlier today he filed a brief in Hudson County Superior Court seeking a waiver of the 72-hour waiting period for marriage licenses so that same-sex couples may begin to marry immediately after midnight on October 21. His request was denied.

“I am very excited – thank you for giving me the news!” Campbell said. “There are people who have been in partnerships and relationships for years, for decades, who want to get married and they want to marry in New Jersey. And as citizens of this state they should have that right.”

Hudson Pride Connections Center executive director, W. Jeffrey Campbell stands with members of the The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s LGBT Affinity Group after receiving a contribution from the group in the amount of $1100.00. Also pictured is Jersey City resident and The Imperial Court’s Empress XXIV Farrah Moans.

The presentation was made to Campbell during the group’s National Coming Out Day reception held at the Skylark in Jersey City.

TRENTON — A state Superior Court judge today denied the Christie administration’s request to delay same-sex marriages in New Jersey beyond Oct. 21 while it appeals the matter to the state Supreme Court, saying that such a move would infringe on couples’ rights.

But the administration quickly responded by requesting the same delay from the state Appellate Division instead, according to the state Attorney General’s Office. It is unclear when the court will consider the motion.

Supporters of marriage equality will rally in Jersey City on the steps of City Hall Friday, October 4, at 7:30 p.m. The rally is being organized by Hudson Pride Connections Center, Humanity Pride Productions and Jersey City Pride Festival.

W. Jeffrey Campbell, Executive Director of Hudson Pride, said, “The court ruling last week was the latest in a string of events that make it clear that marriage equality is coming to New Jersey. We are rallying on Friday to say unequivocally that the time is NOW.”

Michael Billy of Humanity Pride stated, “It is time for New Jersey to line up on the right side of history. Domestic partner status is not enough. We must have full marriage equality for same-gender couples in New Jersey.”

Hudson Pride Connections Center, a 501c3 community benefit organization founded in 1993, exists to bridge the gap in services and respond to the unmet needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender community, as well as HIV positive people of any orientation or identity, through supportive social services, prevention, outreach, advocacy and trainings for other service providers, to educate, empower, and unite all of our communities. For more information, visit: www.hudsonpride.org.

For more information, contact W. Jeffrey Campbell at 201-839-6535 or at Jeffrey@hudsonpride.org